We hear Campo has been a real shitshow (always the fresh-person word of choice to describe anything) the last few nights. Explore your other options, limited as they may be, with bar trading cards, originally posted in last year’s Orientation Blue & White. Have fun post-gaming your Intrepid party! Illustrations by Stephen Davan. Click to enlarge.

Photo courtesy Mel's Burger Bar

Morningside has food niches vacated and sort-of filled every few years. AmCaf, beloved steak sandwich locale in the early aughts, became a fancy tapas bar that no one you know eats at. The fabled West End became mediocre Havana Central, a shadow of its former Kerouac-hosting, drunk-makeout-and-beer-pong-haven self. You could get full and drunk for less than $20, and sometimes much less, and that’s all we really ask for (until Mom and Dad visit– then it’s beet bowls for everyone!)

Bwog ate dinner at Mel’s Burger Bar last night, and we’re delighted to report that you can indeed get full from good food and drunk on good beer for not very much money.

Mel’s looks great. The floors are black-and-white marbled, there’s lots of wood paneling, hanging lamps, red booths, exposed brick, huge chalkboards with beer, food and dessert menus, and six flat-screen TVs showing the Yankee game. The hostess and server were friendly, and the bathrooms spacious and unisex– ooh la! There are 140 seats, with 18 chairs on an outdoor patio.

Bwog and our dining companion sampled two of Mel’s punches ($8-9): the Hook, which was a not-too-sweet alcoholic orange juice, and the Haymaker, which was Grey Goose, Bacardi, and some other stuff that got us properly tipsy. There’s also a promising-looking “unusual lemonade” with homemade lemonade, Jim Beam, and mint for $8, and a slew of other mixed drinks that aren’t as embarassing to order as a vodka cranberry.

There are 18 beers on tap ($4-8), 5 cans from PBR ($4) to 21st Amendment Back in Black ($8), and 10 bottles ($5-10). The Southampton White Beer is delicious. The fancy drinks are expensive-ish but strong, the regular beers are roughly 1020-priced. A good way to get a lot of beer: order a 32 oz. or 64 oz. (!) growler to go, from $7-30. There are also stacks of burgers and wings to go.

After the jump, we eat!

Photo via Wikipedia. This bad boy is expected to go once the EC Townhouses run out.

Don’t be late–check your appointment time!

The Core, topical? Leymah Gbowee champions the positively Lysistrata-esque sex strike and more to fight for justice and women’s rights in the Congo and beyond. (The Daily Beast)

New York is now the eighth-most bike-friendly city in the country. Not so, cry the Williamsburg Hasids! (New York Post)

Today in “Things You Didn’t Know About Yourself”: university-educated women drink more than their non-college peers. (Gothamist)

Would you like a side of weed with your meal? (The New York Times)

Haakon’s Hall v. Yelp: death match! (Spec)

Ding Dong Lounge, the dive bar on Columbus, appears to have ceased operations sometime during winter break. Worried friends and loved ones had mentioned in passing that the bar seemed to have new, reduced hours, but an endlessly ringing phone and those shuttered doors suggest a far grimmer fate. We salute you, Ding Dong: you were a constant presence in our weekends. How many times did we text a friend late on a Friday and receive, “Oh, I’m going to Ding Dong. You should totally come!” only to respond, “Umm, yeah, really wanted to hang out but I’m feeling kinda tired and it’s on Columbus, so maybe coffee tomorrow?” Goodbye, friend.

Update, 11:23 PM: Nostra culpa. The Ding Dong Lounge is still open for business, but has been maintaining odd hours and has not answering the phone. However, Bwog finally got in touch with the establishment just a few minutes ago but they could not hear our pleas for more information over the din of the patrons within.

Dry your tears, you downtrodden Dionysians: it seems that La Negrita may not be closing, after all.

In a message sent to members of La Negrita’s Facebook group, bar manager Jared Cardon says the bar “got it’s [sic] 11th hour reprieve and will stay open.”

Details are few, but the a new “Partner/Manager” named Eric will take over operations beginning Sunday. Confirmation of this Facebook message is pending—calls to the bar today have not been returned but the full text of the message is after the jump.



UPDATE (5:50 PM): Bwog confirms with Jared Cardon that the bar will indeed remain open.

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A newish bar on the Upper West Side (alas, two blocks short of being in Morningside) has a novel concept, reports The Feedbag.

Show a receipt for your cab ride there and they’ll pay for your ride– in the form of a bar tab!  Now, finally there’s a reason to take a cab home after a long night downtown:  Even more free drinks.  Bwog can’t imagine that this promo is permanent, so better take advantage of it while it lasts.

The Village Pourhouse is on Amsterdam between 108th and 109th.  The Village location is at 3rd Avenue and 11th Street.

Bwog’s previous review of the Pourhouse has much more information, lest we repeat ourselves.

Welcome back to the Best of series in which Bwog analyzes the best in a category of chosen food product! 

There are few things that are as much fun and as thirst-quenching as a margarita.  And after a weekend of being nice to your parents or studying for midterms, there are few things as much sought after as a good margarita.  Here, Bwog’s Best of returns with a non-definitive guide to Morningside Height’s best margaritas. 

Blockheads

Theoretically Blockheads should be the perfect place to get a margarita. The clientele is loud and rowdy; the decor is a kitschy amalgam of Christmas lights and party streamers; and the price is just right.  But when you’re paying just $3 for a margarita, something’s got to to be missing.  What’s missing in a Blockheads margarita is enough alcohol and enough fresh lime juice.  It’s questionable whether there’s any lime juice at all because these cocktails are so saturated with syrupy margarita mix.   Instead of  a nice icy crunch, the consistency of Blockhead’s margaritas is a slushy, unsalty mess, which definitely comes out of a can.  Given the low alcohol quotient, you’ll need about nine dollars worth of margaritas to start feeling saucy.  To add insult to injury, Blockheads serves up their drinks in cheapo six-ounce plastic cups with no mini-umbrellas, cocktail-stirrers or swivel sticks.  Not even a fun straw.

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Remember American hero and proud Business School alum (’97) Roy Den Hollander? The self-described antifeminist who sued Columbia for failing to offer a “men’s studies” course? Whatever, anyway, he’s back! And he’s suing mad, specifically about ladies’ nights at bars because what else?

This month, Hollander is arguing that when nightclubs offer all the ladies reduced-price drinks, they are discriminating. He then went on to conclude that since nightclubs get their liquor licences from the state, it’s not only the clubs but New York that is discriminating against him, Roy Den Hollander, and all of his kind.

The lawsuit was dismissed and Hollander called the judge a “feminist.” The end.

This past weekend, Inside New York threw a party to celebrate the release of its 2008-2009 edition. The party took place inside the new Village Pourhouse, the uptown counterpart to the popular original location, which caters to the villianous downtown adversaries of New York University. Bwog took along our camera and a notepad.

What we’re cautiously optimistic about:

• It’s huge, and by Columbia bar standards — see: claustrophobia-inducing Heights and misanthropy-inducing 1020 — it’s the biggest place around. There’s a smaller bar area with several TVs, and this area opens up into a larger room with a dance floor and many spacious booths.
• It’s sportsy. Athletic types and their acolytes have about 1,000 fairly large TVs to enjoy, all of which were invariably tuned to games, matches, races, etc. This is also a nice change of pace if you’re sick of watching 1020′s steady rotation of whimsical kids movies and bizarre vintage pornography.
  
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You know what we haven’t thought about in awhile? Mona. The bar. It closed last year after a crackdown or some such and then everyone headed to 1020 and pretty much forgot the whole thing. Anyway, Spec reported last year that it will be replaced by Pourhouse, a downtown beer and sports bar that caters to Washington Sq.-based archenemy New York University (right). 

Real estate insider Joe Meyers has learned that it should be opening up in a matter of weeks. Reports Meyers: “14 flat screen TVs, two (really big) bars, late night food, tons of beer on tap.” Rumors are also swirling of a “power hour” from 10-11 PM, during which Bud and Bud Light are $2, which is exciting!

Let’s all go there an enjoy it before the Terrible 12s use their Facebook Events and “Maryland IDs” to destroy it forever.

Exterior shot of New Pourhouse after the jump.

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Gawker is linking to Vanity Fair‘s just released “All Access Summer Guide,” which features the city’s best beaches, bars, restaurants, and pools. Second on VF‘s list of the Best Bars for Drinking Under the Stars? None other than everyone’s favorite backup for when 1020 is just too crowded, the Heights. “Columbia students drink their cares away at this second story Morningside Heights bar,” the guide truthfully (we guess?) points out. 

So be on the lookout for an influx of hip forty-somethings with an inexplicable desire to drink their cares away with a bunch of “twenty-one-year-olds” under the stars.

May 5th marks the last day of classes and our favorite Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo.  Read on to for Bwog’s suggestion on how to celebrate the day.

Don’t let the reference to Steinbeck fool you, Tortilla Flats is more Mexican cliche than Mexican culture.  The menu offers a smattering of inventive, if at times bland, pseudo-Mexican treats, from the taco salad, a mix of shredded iceberg lettuce and sour cream in fried tortilla ‘bowl,’ to the New Mexican Short Stack, a casserole comprised of layers of tortilla chips, Jack cheese and refried beans.  But, it is not the fine food or the fine culture that keep people coming back to Tortilla Flats, but rather the utter lack of affectation.

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If you’re in search of a new Saturday night clubhouse for you and your crew – look no further, the Corner Bistro is just the place.  Located at 331 W. 4th St in the West Village. 

Sometimes you want to go, Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.  Not happening at 1020? Well, it probably won’t happen at the Corner Bistro either.  I’ve been frequenting the bar for nearly four years now and to this day the bartender still refuses to know name, let alone my drink.  But the Bistro cannot be written off as just another amateur haunt with a lax ID policy.  

Located on the corner of Jane and West 4th Streets, the Bistro has inviting charm that lends itself to all occasions.  Really there is never a wrong time to go to the Bistro.  Whether you’re pre-gaming, celebrating Saturday night, or just passing through for your night-cap, you’ll always be glad you came.  But stopping by for a weekend lunch, when the afternoon sunlight comes streaming through the bar’s front windows, is hard to beat.

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It seems Havana Central has gotten their hands on the email addresses of several Columbia student groups! Lately they’ve been spamming inboxes with invitations to celebrate New Years Eve with the good folks at the wholly unpopular M’side watering hole.

The flyer advertises “strong Cuban drinks PLUS New Years party favors” (emphasis ours). But wait! There’s más.

For just $195 (a bargain given that they’re providing the New Years party favors!), you can purchase one ticket to party during the 10pm shift at Havana Central’s Times Sq. branch–what we’re calling Havana Central Central. But worry not, cheapskates and early-birds: If you plan to ring in 2008 at 6pm, seating at Havana Central Central is just $125.

And thus concludes Havana Central (Central)’s completely brilliant plan to attract Columbia patrons by throwing a $200-per-ticket party in the middle of the University’s 39-day winter break.

See you there, comrades!

While you’re paying for drinks at 1020, or The Heights, or wherever, some people are actually being paid to go on dates at local Columbia bars. Lonely hearts, look to psych experiments for your next love. Who knew economics held the key to matters of the heart?

Bonus points to anyone who can tell Bwog what bar Ray Fisman used.